A former Latrobe Regional Hospital director has apologised for a string of offensive and sexist comments made on social media site Twitter, dating back as early as 2011.
Mr Anderson, who lives on a 200 acre cattle property at Bunyip, was recently forced to resign from the hospital board, as well as several other positions including his role as an AFL Gippsland commissioner.
Health Minister Jill Hennessy said Mr Anderson’s behaviour on Twitter was completely unacceptable and called for his resignation on Wednesday.
“These types of highly discriminatory comments don’t meet community expectations and they certainly don’t meet my expectations,” Ms Hennessy said.
“As soon as I was made aware of Mr Anderson’s offensive and distasteful comments, Mr Anderson was asked to resign and he agreed to do so.”
Mr Anderson was a Labor candidate in the 2002, 2006 and 2014 state elections.
LRH chair Kellie O’Callaghan said the news surrounding Mr Anderson’s social media history was deeply concerning and directors were well aware of their responsibilities, which she said Mr Anderson had compromised.
“These high standards are set to ensure directors undertake their duties with integrity and accountability. Compromise on these standards is not acceptable,” Ms O’Callaghan said.
An AFL Gippsland spokesperson said Mr Anderson served as a commissioner for four years where he made a notable contribution to the development of football across Gippsland.
“AFL Gippsland has been made aware of a number of comments made by Mr Anderson that do not represent or reflect the values of a progressive community organisation,” the spokesperson said.
Mr Anderson told The Express on Thursday morning he was thankful for the support he had received from former colleagues and questioned whether his “outing” was politically motivated, but said he intended to continue to support his community.
“I sincerely apologise for any comments I have made on social media that may have offended,” Mr Anderson said.
“I fully intend to continue to serve my community to the best of my ability.”
